The Mystery Tent
by Phantom Thief Fee
Summary: Dipper and Mabel Pines have lived with their uncle in his travelling circus all their lives. But when a strange man shows up and begins scheming to take the circus, the twins begin to suspect there's something their uncle isn't telling them.
1. Chapter 1

A new story requested by Barbacar. I'm excited to be working on this and I hope you all will like it too.

* * *

 _The Mystery Tent was famo_ _us in Gravity Falls. All their best shows happened in that town. Everywhere else, they were just another travelling circus. But in Gravity Falls, they were magic. The lights would dim, the ringmaster would step out in his red crushed velvet coat, sweep off his glossy black hat with the strange fish symbol and his voice would boom through the tent as he introduced the acts one by one. He was a con man and everyone knew it, but they couldn't help but be drawn in._

 _The first act was always the human cannonball and her brother, who happened to be the ringmaster's great niece and nephew. The human cannonball wore a flashy outfit, a pink sequined outfit that looked like a combination of a jumpsuit and a dress, as well as a sparkly cape with a shooting star in the back. Since safety was key, she also wore a pink and white striped helmet with a glass visor, as well has a spike at the top and large curved horns on the sides. Her curly brown hair was more than long enough to stick out from under her helmet and nearly reached her ankles. It was a small miracle her hair never caught in the cannon or the net. She often ended up covered in soot from the cannon blast, making her brilliant smile stand out even more. Accompanying her was her brother who lit the fuse. His clothing was considerably less flashy than his sister's, an assortment of different clothing like something one would find at a rummage sale. One item of clothing that made identified him was a hat with a faded pine tree symbol on it. Whenever he came into the tent he always had a box of matches in his pockets to light the cannon._

 _Next would be the strong man, who always seemed like a strange combination of human and rodent. He wore a green singlet with a question mark on it and performed amazing feats of strength. Well, he actually lifted children from the audience most of the time. He was a favorite in the circus because of how approachable he was._

 _And then, then there was the one people always came to see. The ax thrower. She wore a standard juggler affair, her long red hair draped down her back, flaming in the dim light. Dangling from her mouth, more often than not, was a cigarette holding with a lit cigarette at the tip. The blades of her axes were always coated with some sort of a flammable substance that she'd light with her cigarette during performances. The fact that things were on fire always made the act seem a lot more dangerous and intriguing. She also served as a substitute cannonball if the original couldn't perform, but it was her ax skills that made people remember her._

 _The Mystery Tent was magic to the people of Gravity Falls. This didn't go unnoticed by the more...unsavory people of the town. There were those who believed that the members of the troupe possessed actual magic, although most thought this preposterous. But this idea was enough to attract the attention of one man._

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 **.**

 **.**

Dipper and his sister had lived in the circus with their Grunkle almost their entire lives. The 12 year old couldn't remember a life before the shows and the travelling. It wasn't a bad life, he had to admit. Sure, they didn't always have a lot of money, but everyone in the circus was family. Not to mention he got to travel and learn about so many different people and places. It was a good place to be for a curious child such as himself. But he was always glad when they got to settle down for a little. At the moment they were on their way to Gravity Falls for the summer circuit.

"That place has the biggest suckers this side of the Mississippi." Stan always said. Dipper had to admit it was true, blunt as it was. The people in Gravity Falls would believe just about anything. Even Stan's weird Sascrotch side-exhibit.

"Grunkle Stan?" He asked, leaning into the cabin from the trunk bed. "Can I ride inside soon?"

"Kid, you still smell like skunk." Stan said, adjusting the clothespin on his nose. "You aren't riding in here until we can give you a tomato bath."

"It wasn't even my fault!" Dipper protested. "Mabel was the one who wanted to hug the skunk!" Mabel was currently sitting opposite him in the truck bed, playing with her pet pig Waddles. Sometimes she dressed him up in little sequined outfits for shows.

"We don't smell that bad." She said, despite the fact that she had a cold and couldn't smell a single thing. Another reason she was riding in the truck bed. Dipper hunched his shoulders and hugged his knees. He hated riding in the truck bed. He'd always find straw in clothes afterwards. One time he'd found an acorn in his hat, which he was pretty sure had gotten there because of Mabel.

"We'll get you washed off when we get to Gravity Falls." Stan said. Dipper just made an annoyed noise and watched the road.

Soos and Wendy were in charge of the bathing once they arrived. They dragged out the old tin wash basin and filled it up with tomato juice Soos had been sent into town to get. The clerk hadn't even batted an eyelash at the strange order. Melody only occasionally worked in Gravity Falls, but she'd encountered the Mystery Tent's troupe enough to know them fairly well. When the tomato juice had been acquired it was poured into the basin and the twins were promptly shoved in while the others set up. Dipper wouldn't complain about not being able to set up. Getting the booths and tents up was hard work. Mabel splashed around with Waddles, since the pig had been sprayed too.

"I can't wait to see Candy and Grenda!" She squealed. "Do you think Grunkle Stan will let them work concessions again?"

"I don't think he'll object to more free child labor." Dipper said. "I just hope Gideon doesn't show up again."

Mabel shivered. "Yeah..."

The last time they'd been in Gravity Falls the local child psychic had nearly heckled them out of town. Stan and Gideon had had a rivalry for as long as either Pines twin could remember, but it had never escalated too far before. At least, until last year when Mabel had rejected Gideon's confession of love. Things had definitely gone downhill after that. But Dipper had a feeling that this year was going to be different. Little did he know how different it was going to be.

 **.**

 **.**

The first difference was the man who showed up at their first show. He looked like a used car salesman with his big smile and unbearably tacky yellow suit. Other than that, he was short, a little stocky, and had strangely yellow eyes.

"Welcome to the Mystery Tent." Dipper said, ever cautious from his spot in the ticket booth. "May I interest you in a ticket?"

"Sure thing!" The stranger said, "It's been awhile since I caught one of Fez's shows! You weren't even born then, Pine Tree!"

"Um...Okay." Dipper handed over the ticket and the man gave him the money, catching his wrist in the process. The man's sleeve pulled back, revealing an eye tattoo on his wrist.

"Name's Bill Cipher." The stranger said. "It's pleasure to **finally** make your acquaintance." Dipper's mind was screaming stranger danger but he couldn't move. Something about the man, Bill's, eyes kept him frozen. Finally, Bill let go and swaggered inside, humming to himself. Dipper stood there until he was out of sight, then put up the closed sign and bolted into the tent. He was jittery the whole rest of the night and nearly missed the fuse for Mabel's cannon. The audience had a bit of fun laughing at him as he tried to put out his burning sleeve.

"Dude, you okay?" Wendy asked him after the show. "You were really spacing."

"Just a weird customer." Dipper said. "He seemed like he knew Grunkle Stan. And he knew my name."

"Do you want to go to the sheriff?" Wendy was suddenly dead serious. "He's not exactly the best, but he could help."

"It's fine. He's probably just a guy Grunkle Stan scammed." After all, there were few people in the area that Stan hadn't pulled a fast one on. Wendy agreed, but reluctantly.

"Just remember, I'm here if you need anything." Wendy patted her axes.

"I know." He rolled his eyes. "I'm not a little kid, you know."

"Of course you're not." Wendy ruffled his hair. "You better get going. Mabel has to be looking for you." Dipper nodded and ran off to find Mabel. Wendy went to find Stan and ask him about said weird customer.


	2. Chapter 2

And here we introduce Pacifica and a little bit of Robbie. I still don't know what Pacifica's act should be. Thoughts?

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"Bill Cipher?" Stan frowned. "Never met 'im. He was one of my brother's friends. Before he...Well..." Stan trailed off. "You know."

"I'm sorry Mr. Pines." Soos said, looking up from sweeping.

"It's fine." Stan tried not to snap. "Anyway, yeah, I know the guy. Why?"

"Dipper said he showed up." Wendy said. "Spooked him pretty bad too. What do you know about the guy?"

Stan scratched his nose, holding his hat on one knee. "Not much. Poindexter said he was a muse or somethin'. Always called him eccentric."

"So he's a weirdo." Wendy concluded. "I swear, if he comes near Dipper again-"

"We'll deal with him." Stan's gaze sharpened. "No one messes with the kids. Not on my watch." Then he sat straight up and looked back at the tent flap. An overwhelming scent of peach cobbler filled the tent.

"Why Stanley, what a lovely surprise to have you back in our town."

" _Gideon_." Stan's eyes narrowed.

"Aw shucks, you remember lil ol' me." Gideon giggled. "Is Mabel around? I wanted to welcome her back and give her a little present." He pulled out a bouquet of red roses.

"She doesn't want to see you." Stan said.

"Get lost." Wendy fingered her ax, while Soos stood menacingly behind the other two. Gideon pouted and folded his arms.

"Y'all are no fun." He said. "Ah well. I hear you've met my new friend Bill."

"You know that guy?" Soos blurted out before going silent again. Gideon smirked, a very nasty expression on such a cute little face.

"Well of course." He said. "A businessman like myself has to make all sorts of friends."

"And what does your friend want with my circus?" Stan narrowed his eyes, standing up and putting his hat back squarely on his head.

Gideon just shrugged. "He never said, and frankly I don't care. So long as I can take you down, I'm happy."

"Get out. Now." Stan growled, brandishing Soos' broom.

"Oh no! Not the broom!" Gideon shrieked as Stan chased after him with the aforementioned object.

Mabel was only too happy to see Gideon being driven out. She'd been terrified he'd get in and- and-

"Mabel, deep breaths." Dipper's hand was on her shoulder. "He's not going to get you. We're here." They took deep breaths together as Mabel struggled to calm down. It made Dipper's blood boil seeing someone do this to his sister.

"You wanna visit Pacifica?"

Mabel's eyes lit up. "Really?"

"Really."

Pacifica Northwest had more protection than most pieces of art, and yet the Pines twins were always able to slip past the guards and up to Pacifica's room. Having a conman for a great uncle had its perks. Pacifica had her window open when they got there, as she often did when she heard the circus was in town.

"Pacifica!" Mabel squealed in a stage whisper as she scrambled through the open window. "I missed you!" Pacifica smiled as she was tackled to the ground by the excited brunette.

"I missed you too." She said, looking to Dipper as if to ask what prompted the visit.

"Gideon." Dipper said. Pacifica's expression quickly clouded.

"That little creep started bothering you again?" She asked. "I can make him go away."

"Nononononono!" Mabel said quickly. "Don't make him disappear. That would be mean."

"He'd deserve it." Dipper muttered.

"I mean, he's a butthead, but I don't think he deserves to die." Mabel said, still refusing to let go of Pacifica.

"Yeah, you're right." It would be nice if Gideon would just go away though. He was so creepy. While Pacifica cheered Mabel up, Dipper went to sit by the fireplace that decorated one of the walls in Pacifica's massive bedroom. It was decorated with the Northwest family crest in the uppermost bricks and provided blasts of heat to those who sat beside it. He stared into the flames, passing his hat from one hand to another. He was still thinking about the stranger, Bill Cipher. What could a man like that want with the Mystery Tent? And how had he known Dipper's name? That last part was what really bothered him. Sure, thousands knew his face, but never his name. Everyone used stage names, part of the mystique Stan had said. Soos was The Question, Wendy was Lady Red, he was Pine Tree, Mabel was Shooting Star, and Stan had always just been The Ringmaster. As he though, Dipper pulled out three miniature juggling balls and began juggling. Stan had taught him and Mabel when they'd been little. It calmed him down. Just repeatedly tossing the balls up and down, up and down. Over and over and over. It was comforting in its monotony.

"So how long are you in town for this time?" Pacifica asked, patting Mabel's head.

"The whole summer. Grunkle Stan thinks this'll be a good season." Mabel said. "Do you wanna be in the show? We haven't had a new act in forever. I can even make you a costume!"

"I don't know..." Pacifica's gaze trailed back to her bedroom door. "My parents would be furious."

"No offense," Dipper said. "But your parents are assholes. You're better off without them." He had noticed the new bruises on her arms that were just barely covered by her sleeves.

"What would I even do? I don't have anything that can be used for a circus act." Pacifica shook her head. "Besides, it's not like I can just run away. They'll find me."

"I wasn't saying you should run away." Mabel said.

"For me to be in the circus, I'd have to. There's no way my parents would never let me do it." Pacifica sighed and drew away from Mabel. Mabel frowned and she latched onto Pacifica again.

"Don't despair! Mabel is here!" She said. "We're going to liberate you! Today!" She stood up and dragged Pacifica to the window.

"Wha- Mabel!" Pacifica protested and tried to pull away but Mabel had her held tight. "At least let me pack!" Dipper stopped juggling, stowing the balls away. So they were really doing this.

"Mabel, we shouldn't just be doing this." He followed his sister to the window. "We don't have a plan or anything."

"They won't be expecting it." Mabel said. "Come on Dipper. She can't stay here." She had a point. Pacifica couldn't stay there. Dipper sighed and helped Pacifica gather her things before they all stowed back to the circus under the cover of night.

 **.**

 **.**

Stan was less than pleased by their stunt, but accepted Pacifica nonetheless.

"We need a new act." He said. "That's it. Don't go getting any funny ideas." Mabel and Dipper both just nodded, knowing better than to push their grunkle.

"You can bunk with me!" Mabel grabbed Pacifica's hand and dragged her towards the trailer Dipper and Mabel shared.

"We only have two mattresses." Dipper said, opening the trailer door. "Do you want her to sleep on your mattress?" They had laid two mattresses side by side in the trailer to serve as their sleeping area. One belonged to Mabel and was furnished with pink unicorn sheets and a shooting star quilt Mabel had made with Wendy. The other had simple blue plaid sheets and a pine tree quilt also made by Mabel.

"We're both girls, it's fine." Mabel waved a hand dismissively.

"I guess I wouldn't mind." Pacifica turned her nose up, but Dipper could see she was blushing. He laughed and went back outside while Mabel sorted out sleeping arrangements with Pacifica and showed her around. Wendy was outside her trailer, talking with a guy who often served a stagehand when they were in Gravity Falls. Dipper remembered his name, but only because the guy was kind of an asshole. Robbie Valentino had an on-off relationship with Wendy, something Dipper had been jealous of when he'd been younger and crushing on Wendy. Now Robbie was just a minor annoyance.

"Sup Dipper?" Soos sidled up, eating a hotdog. "I heard Mr. Pines say Mabel brought back that blond rich girl. Is it true?"

"Yeah. We couldn't let her stay at her house anymore." Dipper shrugged. "I didn't think Grunkle Stan was actually going to agree to let her stay though."

"That's great!" Soos grinned. "It'll be awesome to have a new member! What can she do?"

"We...haven't decided on her act yet. It all happened kind of fast."

"Oh. Okay." Soos took a bite of his hotdog. "You think she'll be okay?"

"I...I don't know." Dipper shifted uncomfortably. Maybe this had been a mistake. It had happened so fast. None of them had been thinking.

"It'll be fine dude." Soos said, patting Dipper's shoulder. "She's gonna fit in fine." He stood up. "Well, have a nice night! I'm gonna go find Melody!" And so the strongman walked off. Dipper smiled a little.

"Hey squirt." He looked up to see Robbie standing in front of him.

"Hey Robbie." Dipper leaned back on the trailer steps. "What do you want?"

"Nothing." Robbie rolled his eyes. "Just wanted to tell you to break a leg tomorrow. Wendy said you were having trouble or whatever."

"Thanks."

"Don't mention it." Robbie shoved his hands in his pockets. "I mean it. Don't."

"Yeah yeah." Dipper smirked as Robbie walked away, shoulders hunched. Robbie could be a jerk, but he wasn't half bad. He got up and went back inside. By the time Dipper, Mabel, and Pacifica actually got to bed, they'd almost forgotten about Bill Cipher and what he might be planning. Stan, however, had not. Once alone in his own trailer he dug out an old journal and began flipping through it.

"C'mon Sixer, what do you know about this guy?"


	3. Chapter 3

This is a little shorter, but I'm trying to make this at least a little drawn out. Constructive feedback is always appreciated.

* * *

Gideon stalked away from the Mystery Tent, grumbling to himself. That damnable Stanley and his damnable broom. He would show that man how wrong he'd been to mess with Gideon Gleeful.

"Tough time?" The shrill voice from the treeline startled the boy, causing him to jump.

"Bill!" He spun around.

"That's my name shortstack. Don't wear it out!" Bill grinned and exited the trees. It wasn't like it was hard to see the small man, what with his hideous yellow suit and all.

"How long've you been standing there?"

"Long enough to see you get chased out with a broom." Bill started laughing, god he had an irritating laugh. "You really are pathetic! Was it a mistake for me to come to you?"

"No no!" Gideon said quickly. "I promise, I can do whatever you need."

"Good." Bill's single visible eye turned red, the world becoming monochrome. "I don't need any useless pawns." Then everything was back to normal and Bill was swinging his cane. "Well, nice talking to you! Expect a present of deer teeth!" He walked off, whistling to himself. Gideon shivered and ran back home. Every meeting he had with Bill Cipher made his skin crawl. Bill seemed to have that effect on people. Gideon's bodyguards, a bunch of prisoners he'd helped, had similar reactions despite being twice Bill's size. Just what was that man?

Stan knew exactly what Bill Cipher was, but only after he'd roped the kids into pouring through the journals as well. Said journals had been in Ford's cabin up in the woods, not far from where they parked the circus every year. Stan had found them when his parents had finally reached out to him after not hearing from Ford for over a year. It was still a mystery where Ford had gone, but Stan had a sneaking suspicion it all had to do with the paranormal research his brother had been doing. Dipper had jumped at the chance to look at the forbidden journals, even if it was technically work. Pacifica had been exempted from this exercise since Wendy wanted to train her. They'd settled on a tightrope walker and Mabel had volunteered to make her a costume. She was working on it in the corner now as Dipper stared at the passage on Bill Cipher. It didn't have a lot of actual information, just mostly gushing about how amazing Bill was. Next to him was the third journal, which had shakier handwriting and more screaming about how dangerous Bill was.

"A demon? Seriously?" He started chewing on his pencil. "What does a demon want with us?!" Any other person would have questioned the legitimacy of the claim that the strange man was a demon, but the Mystery Tent knew how real the strangeness of Gravity Falls could be. They'd once had to fight off a lake monster that had tried to eat Soos while they'd been swimming. Nothing surprised them anymore.

"Maybe he wants our souls." Mabel said.

"Wonder what Sixer did with this guy exactly." Stan snatched up the first journal. "Sounds like they were an item. Leave it to my brother to bump uglies with a demon."

"Grunkle Stan! That's gross!" Dipper yelled.

"I gave you guys the talk, you know it's a natural part of life."

"That doesn't make it any less gross!" Dipper insisted. Mabel just covered her ears, beginning to rock back and forth slowly at the memory of the experience. Stan hadn't exactly done the best job in giving "The Talk" to the kids. He was doing his best.

"Hey dudes." Soos poked his head into the trailer. "The weird guy is back."

"Which weird guy?" Stan grabbed his hat.

"The one who freaked Dipper out."

Stan was up and out of the trailer before anyone could stop him. Dipper and Mabel quickly ran to follow, with Soos bringing up the rear. Bill Cipher stood out front, leaning heavily on his cane and smiling that same damn smile.

"Ah Stan and the family." He said when they ran up. "Didn't think I'd get all of you here together!"

"What do you want?" Stan growled, slipping on his knuckle dusters.

"Hey! Easy there!" Bill paled a little and put his hands up. "Man, you're just as volatile as Sixer said you were."

"Don't you talk about my brother!"

"Geez, calm down, seriously." Bill looked a little put-out. "I thought we could have a nice civil conversation here."

"What do you want?" Dipper asked, standing beside his grunkle. Mabel stood on the other side with Soos in the back. Mabel had a golf club.

"I'm just here to collect on a debt." Bill grinned and swung his cane. "Nothing less nothing more."

"A debt?"

"Yes." Bill's smile widened. "I loaned your brother something very important and was promised something in return."

"...My brother did what?"

"He made a deal with me!"

Stan groaned. Leave it to Ford to make a deal with a demon who looked like a used car salesman. Weirdo had probably stroked Ford's ego enough to get him to fall for the demon. And then it'd backfired because this guy was a literal demon. Mabel hefted the golf club menacingly, or at least as menacingly as she could.

"Would he really do that?" Dipper whispered.

"Knowing Sixer, yeah, probably." Stan sighed. "He'd do anything to learn more about the supernatural."

"Exactly~" Bill said. "He'd do anything for knowledge. So he promised me something irreplaceable~" Stan suddenly felt nauseous. He brandished his knuckle dusters.

"Get. Out." He snarled.

"Aw, what's wrong Fez? Are you-"

"GET OUT!" Stan roared, lunging for the demon. Bill easily avoided the blows like a feral cat and backed away.

"Alright alright!" Bill looked even more upset. "Fine! I'm going! Geez, you're no fun!" He ran off into the shadows, kicking a few gnomes out of his way as he went. Stan was breathing heavily, seething with rage as he stared at the demon's back. He didn't like this. He didn't like this at all. Ford couldn't have bargained away their souls. He couldn't have. His brother could be unbelievably stupid, but not that stupid, right?

"Grunkle Stan, are you okay?" Mabel whispered, tugging on his sleeve. "You got really angry."

"I'm fine, sweetie. Everything's fine." He took a few deep breaths. "You should get to practicing. We've got a show later." Mabel looked like she wanted to ask more questions, but she didn't. Instead she took Dipper's hand and the twins left to go over their act. Pacifica was dragged in as well so she could iron out what to do during her very first show. The whole time Stan tried not to think about what his brother might have done. Obviously Bill hadn't gotten what he'd wanted or he wouldn't have come back. So where was Ford if Bill hadn't taken him? What had Bill given Ford in exchange for his soul? Stan had long worried about what might have happened to his brother, but this had never crossed his mind. Times like these he wished the rest of the Pines family wasn't dead. It would be nice to have some support on this front. True, they might not believe all this demon business, but they'd be supportive nonetheless. Ford's disappearance had been rough on everyone. Stan shook his head and took a few deep breaths. He had a show to do. He put his top hat on, straightened his jacket, and faced the audience.

The show was like any other show. Mabel was shot out of her cannon by Dipper, Soos lifted a number of children sitting on a plank of wood, Wendy threw her flaming axes. And now there was Pacifica. Her heart pounded as she stood above the crowd. They had a net, of course, but she was still scared. Mabel stood down below, giving the other girl thumbs ups and silent encouragement. This alleviated some of Pacifica's fear. So the blond heiress steeled herself, and crossed the wire. From down below, the audience couldn't see her fear, they just saw her icy composure and doll-like figure. She made a good performer, especially with her haughty flourish once she was safely across. It was a good show, all things considering. The addition of Pacifica drew in more revenue from the people of Gravity Falls since Pacifica was one of them. They'd never thought she would ever do something like this, making it all the more entertaining. And Pacifica's inclusion made Mabel happy. Mabel so seldom met girls her own age. Once Pacifica was down Mabel, Candy, and Grenda swarmed the other girl, cheering and complementing her.

"Wrap it up, pumpkin." Stan ruffled Mabel's hair. "You gotta go to bed soon. We got a long day tomorrow."

"Okay!" Mabel gave Candy and Grenda one last hug before retreating to her trailer with Dipper and Pacifica. Stan went back to his own trailer, trying desperately not to think about what Ford might have done.


	4. Chapter 4

And now, a new character is introduced~ I promise the next chapter will be longer.

* * *

The next morning found Dipper fighting with Robbie. Dipper hadn't gotten much sleep last night since he, like Stan had spent most of the night worrying about what it might have been his great uncle had done. He'd heard stories from Stan about how smart and sensible Ford was. Never had the boy imagined his Grunkle Ford would make a deal with a demon. Of course, he didn't know the man at all. So Dipper hadn't gotten much sleep and had woken up in a foul mood. Robbie had been the first person he'd seen that morning so he'd gotten into a fight with him. It was over popcorn of all things. The fight lasted about ten minutes before Wendy broke it up, having been woken up by it.

"You two are acting like toddlers!" She snapped. "Cut it out!"

"Sorry Wendy." The boys said in unison before glaring at each other.

"Keep this up and I'll use both of you as target practice." Wendy's hand went to the axes hanging at her belt. This did the job and both boys quickly broke up the fight, Robbie walking off to get the tent ready for the day.

"You really need to get more sleep." Wendy turned her attention to Dipper. "You get all cranky when you're tired."

"I know." Dipper said. "I just couldn't stop thinking about Grunkle Ford."

"Stan thinks he has something to do with the weird guy?"

"Yeah." Dipper stifled a yawn. "We dug through his journal and apparently Grunkle Ford knew Bill. We think he made a deal with him.'

"That's pretty heavy stuff, dude. No wonder you couldn't sleep."

"Yeah."

"Well, don't worry." Wendy slapped his back. "He's got a solid form at least, and if it's solid, I can hit it. No one hurts my family." Dipper smiled a little. Wendy was a good friend to have. He was glad she was part of his family. No matter what happened, she was always there for him and everyone else in the circus. Even if she didn't always know what to do, she'd try her best.

"Morning Wendy!" Mabel popped her head out of the trailer. "What's up?"

"Dipper and Robbie got in a fight. I was just breaking it up." Wendy explained. "But I should probably check on Mr. Pines and make sure he's not, like, dead or something." She waved and walked off. Mabel immediately looked at Dipper.

"You didn't sleep." She said matter-of-factly. "Did you really think I wasn't going to notice?"

"It's nothing Mabel."

"Nothing my foot!" Mabel scowled. "Tell me what's bothering you, Dip-dop." Dipper hesitated for a moment, then launched into a long speech about what he was thinking about with Ford and Bill and the possible deal. Mabel listened, nodding at various intervals. It might have seemed to an outside observer that she was only half listening, but Mabel had developed a way of listening to her brother's rants to pick out only the important details imbedded in all his crazy theories.

"I'm sure Grunkle Ford knew what he was doing." Mabel said when he was finished. "And even if he didn't, we can stop that weird jerk together! Whatever he's planning we'll be there to take him down! We'll do it together!"

"Thanks Mabel." She always knew what to say to make him feel better.

"Now come on." She dragged him up. "We have to practice!" He let her drag him to the tent where Pacifica was already awake and practicing.

"A lady is never late." She told them, flourishing her parasol. Dipper couldn't help but laugh. Even in this situation Pacifica was still sticking to what she knew. That whole ladylike thing had bothered him at first, but he'd quickly found out that was just the way she was. Mabel always gushed about Pacifica's ladylike status, saying it was like something out of a novel. Right now though, his sister was fidgety and restless, shifting from one foot to another.

"Hey, wanna see me get shot out of my cannon?" Mabel immediately jumped into the cannon without waiting for an answer. Dipper sighed. She was such a thrill junkie sometimes. Still, he withdrew the box of matches from his coat pocket and lit the fuse. Mabel went sailing out, screaming in joy and landing on the net.

"I need to work on my landing." She said, quickly running back. "I keep hitting the net feet first."

"Want to run it again?" Dipper asked. Mabel nodded and clambered back in. They ended up repeating it a few more times until Mabel was satisfied with the result. Then Soos came running in, panicked and breathing heavily.

"Dudes, you have to hide me." He hissed. "Giffany is back."

"Giffany?" Pacifica frowned. "Who's that?"

"She's from another travelling circus." Dipper explained as he and Mabel covered Soos in hay to disguise him as one of the hay bales they used to cover the "floor" of the tent.

"She has a weird stalker crush on Soos and won't take no for an answer." Mabel scowled at the hay. "She's so creepy."

"Soos~ Where are you?" A voice floated into the tent, followed by its owner. Outwardly, Giffany didn't look at all threatening. She was small with delicate features, big eyes, and hair done up with a cute bow. But then there were the knives she carried. Giffany was a knife thrower. Although her talents were hardly on par with Wendy's, she was very very dangerous.

"Go away. He's not here." Mabel tried not to let her voice shake.

"You're lying." Giffany said, wrinkling her nose. "I saw him come in here."

"He came in and kept running." Dipper said. "What do you want from us? We just saw him leave."

"He nearly knocked me over." Pacifica joined in, tilting her head to look down her nose at Giffany. The knife thrower looked at the three children, her smile not reaching her eyes. Soos stayed as still as he possibly could.

"That dumb trenchcoat man said he was here." She grumbled before exiting. Dipper, Pacifica, and Mabel exchanged a look. Dumb trenchcoat man?

"MABEL!" Candy and Grenda burst in just as Giffany was leaving.

"Girls! What's going on?" Mabel rushed to their sides.

"There's a totally creepy guy in town." Grenda panted. "He's been asking about you guys!"

"He smells like he hasn't showered in weeks." Candy said, nodding gravely. "Not good news."

"Is it Bill?" Dipper jumped up. Soos popped up as well, hay all over him. Candy and Grenda both shook their heads.

"He looks kinda like your grunkle." Grenda said. "But...less put together?"

"He looks like Old Man Mcgucket after a beaver fight." Candy said. "We saw him headed this way." Mabel nodded, looking back at Dipper. Neither of them was quite sure what to do. They decided to go with the plan they usually did when a stranger showed up. Defend the circus with grappling hooks and brass knuckles. Stan had taught them self-defense at a very young age since they lived in a circus. They'd dealt with a lot of muggers over the years. So when the man showed up, they were ready. But the man who showed up looked oddly familiar. Grenda was right, he did look like Grunkle Stan. The man looked younger than Stan, though.

"Children?" The man said, taking a step back. "Why are there children here?"

"We live here!" Mabel said, brandishing her grappling hook gun.

"Who are you?" Dipper demanded. Soos stood behind them and Pacifica held her umbrella like a bat.

"My name is Stanford Pines. I'm looking for Stanley." The man put his hands up in a gesture of goodwill. He had six fingers on each hand. Just like the hands on the covers of the journals. Dipper didn't want to jump to conclusions, but it seemed like this was...

"Grunkle Ford?" Mabel whispered.


	5. Chapter 5

I should probably put in a disclaimer that I don't own Gravity Falls. That belongs to our flannel overlord Alex Hirsch.

* * *

"Grunkle?" The man frowned.

"You're Grunkle Stan's brother!" Mabel said. "You're our Grunkle Ford!"

"Grunkle is an abbreviation for great uncle." Dipper said. He was so shocked he couldn't think of anything else to say.

"It's so good to see you!" Mabel separated herself from her brother and ran to hug the man who was apparently her missing great uncle.

"I'll go tell Mr. Pines!" Soos ran in the other direction, towards Stan's trailer. Dipper just stood there. After all these years he was meeting the man he'd been told so much about. It couldn't be a coincidence that he'd showed up now, just after Bill.

"Ah, erm." Ford reached down to pat Mabel's head. "Hello to you to...um..."

"Mabel!" Mabel said. "I'm Mabel, your great niece!"

"I'm Dipper."

"Dipper?" Ford frowned.

"Well, my name's Mason, but everyone calls me Dipper." Dipper said, lifting his bangs. "Because of this." Stan couldn't really afford haircuts most of the time, and since Dipper dreaded his great uncle actually taking a pair of scissors to his hair, it was kind of getting shaggy. Most of the time his bangs more than covered the birthmark on his forehead shaped like the big dipper.

"Interesting." Ford shook Mabel off and leaned closer. "I've never seen anything like it."

"Yeah, well, it's not a big deal." Dipper quickly covered his forehead again.

"POINDEXTER!" Stan's voice boomed through the tent. The inhabitants turned around to see Stan storming inside. He cleared the distance in seconds, wrapping his arms around Ford.

"Stanley." Ford patted his back. "Are you crying?"

"I just have something in my eye!" Stan yelled. "Now shut up and hug me!" Ford smiled and did so. When they separated, Stan was still shaking. But he didn't look happy now.

"Where have you been?" He demanded.

"Around..." Ford said, a bit startled by how quickly Stan had switched between emotions. "Mostly travelling between dimensions. If I had had a choice, I wouldn't have left but I had to find answers. It was the only way."

"We need to talk." Stan said. "Alone." The two men walked out of the tent, leaving the kids and Soos behind. Both were silent for the time it took to clear the distance from the main tent to Stan's trailer.

"So, those children are our...great niece and nephew?" Ford asked as Stan shut the door.

"They're Shermie's grandkids." Stan said. "Their parents died in a car accident. I had to take 'em in. They're good kids. They mean the world to me. Don't...Don't tell them I said that though."

"Your secret is safe with me."

"So when exactly did you start travelling between dimensions?" Stan jumped right back to the topic he'd pulled Ford away for. "Have you been doing it the whole time?"

"Well...When exactly did they pronounce me missing?"

"Fall of '87. I checked out your cabin and it looked like it had been abandoned for awhile."

"I started in the spring, though not by choice." Ford said. "A...A former acquaintance of mine forced me to flee for a year or so. When I got back it wasn't safe. I had to stay away."

"All these years and you never let any of us know you were alive. They pronounced you dead. We had a freakin' funeral." Stan's hands shook and he looked like he was trying to fight back tears again. "I was there when they buried your coffin. Ma died from heartbreak, Ford! I had to bury her and Pa by myself! I had to raise the kids by myself! I didn't know anything about childcare! You know I'm the least qualified person to raise kids! I was alone!"

"Well, you were never really by yourself" Ford said weakly. "From the looks of it you had that...strange gerbil man."

"His name's Soos and he's not a gerbil man, he's family." Stan turned to glower at his brother. "I picked him up from his grandmother. She lives in town, didn't have the funds to keep him after his deadbeat dad dropped him on her. I raised him too. By myself."

"Like I said, it wasn't safe. I didn't want to put you in danger-"

"I would have been glad to be in danger just to have you back!" Stan cut him off. "You know how many times I laid awake thinking it was my fault? Thinking I had driven you to do something you'd regret?!"

Ford's shoulder slumped and he hung his head. "I saw. I was watching you. I...I never meant to cause you that much pain."

"You're my brother. I'd walk through Hell for you. I don't care that you had a fallout with a demon."

"Wait, how did you know about that?" Ford looked up, frowning.

"I found your journals, idiot." Stan said, opening the safe in his wall to reveal the three journals. "The kids and I were looking over them yesterday, trying to figure out what your friend Cipher wants with us."

"Bill...Bill's here?"

"Yeah. Freaked Dipper out pretty bad a couple days ago when he just showed up and said some weird stuff."

Ford began to fidget. "This is bad. This is very bad. I hadn't thought he would approach you so soon."

"...Sixer, what did you do?" Stan asked.

"I, um, I might have sold our souls, as well as those of all future offspring of our family."

The trailer was silent for what seemed like forever as Stan stared at Ford and Ford stared back, praying that his brother wasn't about to explode. Unfortunately for the scientist, that was exactly what Stan did.

"YOU SOLD THE SOULS OF OUR GREAT NIECE AND NEPHEW TO A DEMON?!"

"Stanley, please, lower your voice-"

"NO I WILL NOT LOWER MY VOICE! YOU SOLD THE KIDS' SOULS TO A DEMON! AND MINE! POINDEXTER, WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?!"

"I wasn't."

"Huh?"

"Thinking. I wasn't thinking." Ford looked away. "Stanley, I'm well aware it was a bad idea. I've been kicking myself for it ever since it happened. I should have known when he named his price that it was wrong, but I was young and foolish. You know what that feels like." Stan wanted to argue, but couldn't. He did know what that felt like. Sure, he'd been allowed back into the family after Ford had disappeared, but Filbrick had still kicked him out. Foolishly, he'd wanted to join the circus and when their father found out Stan had been exiled, only to return when their favorite son was gone.

"Fine." Stan said, going to the door of the trailer. "But you better not put the kids in any danger."

"I came to remedy the situation. I'm hoping not to make it worse."

.

.

Meanwhile, Dipper was in the woods. While Stan and Ford talked, Mabel had decided to practice her act a little more and Dipper didn't feel like having to be around for when the two older men came back. Which left Wendy. He helped Wendy with her act a lot due to how much free time he had, and his lingering crush. Normally she'd just throw axes to cut an apple on his head or something. But today was different. Today she was feeling the anxiety too, and she wanted to throw flaming axes at him. Fire always seemed to make her feel better, something that made Dipper a little scared sometimes. He didn't like the idea of going up in flame while bleeding to death if Wendy missed. She always told him he was being too much of a worrywart.

"Are you sure this is safe?" He asked.

"Of course." Wendy lit her cigarette, sticking it in the corner of her mouth as she began juggling her axes. "I've done it a thousand times. Don't worry about it. Just stand as still as you can against that tree." Dipper nodded slowly and stood straight and still in front of the tree. Wendy started lighting the axes as she juggled, throwing ax after ax towards him. They all flew into the tree, mere inches from hitting any part of Dipper's body. Each time an ax hit the tree he breathed in sharply, squeezing his eyes shut until Wendy hollered to him that she'd run out of axes. He was ready to let out a sigh of relief when he heard the tree groaning. A moment later it fell over, thankfully not in the direction of where Dipper happened to be standing.

"Mr. Pines is gonna kill me." Wendy whispered.

"It's not that bad." Dipper said. Then the tree started smoking and caught on fire. "...Okay maybe it's kind of bad."

"Just get the water." Wendy said. The two of them ran back and forth from the tree to the stream nearby with pails until the fire was safely out.

"Maybe I'll only practice with the flaming axes in the tent." Wendy said, breathing a bit heavily from the water fetching.

"Seems like a good idea." Dipper panted before collapsed on the grass. Wendy laid down next to him. The two of them stared at the sky in silence for a few minutes.

"I heard Mr. Pines brother just showed up out of the blue."

"Yeah."

"Why do you think he's here? It's been like 30 years, right?"

"I don't know." Dipper rolled over. "I think...Maybe he came back because of Bill showing up."

"You think something bad is about to happen?"

Dipper didn't answer. He hoped the answer wasn't going to be yes. But life was seldom so kind to the Pines family.

"I don't want to talk about it." He finally said. "Let's just go back, okay?"

"Okay." Wendy helped him up and the two headed back.

They heard the commotion before they actually saw it, prompting them to walk a little bit faster. When they got to the main tent they saw a limo parked on the road and bodyguards trying to wrestle Pacifica away from the tent and Mabel. Her parents stood beside her, pulling as well and yelling at her to stop resisting.

"What's going on?" Dipper ran up.

"Pacifica's parents want to take her back!" Mabel was sobbing as she tried to hold tight to her friend.

"She is our daughter and you dirty circus freaks can't have her!" Mr. Northwest spat, both figuratively and literally.

"Come along now, Pacifica." Her mother chided. "Your place is at home, with us. You're a lady! Behave like it!"

"No! I don't want to go back!" Pacifica shrieked. The bodyguards finally managed to tear her loose and dragged her kicking and screaming back to the limo. Her parents followed, but not before giving the members of the circus another disdainful look. Then they got in and drove away. Dipper held Mabel as she cried into his shirt, sobbing unintelligibly.

"The nerve of those people." Wendy muttered. "I can't believe they called us freaks!"

"They're awful people." Dipper agreed. He wished they could go after Pacifica, but they really couldn't at the moment. They had to worry about Bill. No doubt Mabel would be planning a way to rescue her friend though. Candy and Grenda stood in the entrance to the tent, looking forlorn. They weren't Pacifica's biggest fans by any means, but not even she deserved the treatment they knew she recieved.

"Come on." Dipper helped his sister up. "You should rest." Everyone disbanded and Dipper took Mabel back to their trailer for a nap. Bill watched from the shadows, humming to himself. So Sixer had shown his face. Well, it looked like things were finally going to get interesting.


	6. Chapter 6

I don't own Gravity Falls. That belongs to our flannel overlord Alex Hirsch.

* * *

The next morning Gideon showed up. Mabel and Dipper were alone in the tent. Wendy had gone off with Robbie and Soos was with Stan and Ford. Mabel wanted to practice to ease the pain of Pacifica's forced departure, which meant Dipper insisted upon being with her. It wasn't like he wanted to be alone either though. Stan had filled them in the other night on what was going on. Dipper was furious with his great uncle, and rightly so. How dare he sell their souls?! And before they'd even been born! He'd cursed them before they'd even existed. Dipper hated him for it. At the same time though, he could understand. He'd do anything for knowledge and he knew it. That didn't mean he was proud of it. He was almost glad when Gideon came sauntering through the tent flap. It meant he could take his mind of the fact that he would voluntarily sell his soul.

"Mabel, my sweet!" The little psychic ran towards her, only to get an elbow to the face.

"Not today." She said. She hadn't slept too well the other night and so was too tired and too pissed off to deal with Gideon's bullshit. Gideon picked himself up, rubbing his cheek wistfully.

"I know you only hurt me because you love me." He said.

"What do you want, Gideon?" Dipper asked. "This isn't a good time." It was never a good time to see Gideon, but now was even worse.

"I just came to see how y'all were doing." Gideon fluttered his eyelashes innocently. "I was worried."

"Bullshit."

"Dipper!" Mabel slapped his arm. "Grunkle Stan said we weren't supposed to say that word!"

"Why are you here?" Dipper asked.

"Bill wanted to talk to you." Gideon's smile vanished and he folded his his chubby arms. "And I wanted to see my peach."

"I'm not your peach." Mabel spat. Then Bill walked in. The tent went quiet.

"What? No welcome?" Bill asked, spinning his cane. No one said anything. No one moved.

"Y'know, I've always wanted to own a circus. Think I'd make a good ringmaster?" Bill snapped his fingers and his hideous suit changed into a yellow and black ringmaster outfit. It was so incredibly tacky. It had sequins everywhere. Even Mabel, the most open minded person about fashion, wrinkled her nose in was frankly off-putting that Bill could look like a fully grown man, if a bit on the babyfaced side, but act like an overgrown child.

"You want our souls, what does the circus have to do with it?" Dipper asked.

Bill laughed. "Oh Pine Tree, so small minded. There are so many uses for a circus like yours! I could use it to make more deals than I ever could before! And people run away to join stuff like this, right? I'd have tons of human minions! It'd be great!" The gleeful smile on his face even made Gideon feel sick. Gideon knew even he wouldn't be spared from the demon when the time came. He was and always would be a minion to Bill.

"You could even stay." Bill continued. "You could keep your jobs and become demons."

"Yeah, right." Mabel folded her arms. "I'd rather burn my sweaters! All of them!" Coming from Mabel, that was a pretty strong response.

"Man, you kids are just so stubborn." Bill sighed and rested his chin on his cane. "There's gotta be something I can offer you. Everybody wants something, right?"

"If you're so powerful, why do you need to make a deal with us anyway?" Mabel asked.

"He can't do anything to us." Dipper realized. "He's powerless in this form."

Bill's smile twitched. "Well well well. Aren't you a clever one, Pine Tree?"

Mabel looked from the demon to her brother and burst out laughing. She couldn't believe she'd been afraid of this guy. This did nothing to improve Bill's mood which was quickly plummeting. His gaudy yellow and black color scheme was turning black and red.

"You like that Northwest girl, right? What do you think would happen if I told her parents the only way to appease me was to kill her? You wouldn't be so happy then, now would you?" Bill smiled so wide it almost seemed to crack his face. His skin was starting to sag, teeth and gums clearly visible. His hair thinned, his body beginning to resemble a triangle in its shape.

"Don't!" Mabel said. "P-Please, don't. I'll...I'll do it. I'll give you my soul."

"Mabel, don't do it!" Dipper tried to hold her back. He didn't want Pacifica to get hurt either, but the thought of Bill in the real world was too terrifying to even consider.

"Hey! Freak! Get away from them!" An ax whizzed by Bill's head. Wendy stood behind the kids, another ax ready to be thrown. Soos held a sledgehammer, normally cheery face dark. No one hurt a member of the Mystery Tent and got away with it. Bill's body condensed, becoming even smaller and fatter than it had been previously.

"You humans are so annoying." He said, then left. Gideon stayed. He was shaking pretty badly now.

"I don't want to be a part of this anymore." He said. "He was just weird before, not like this." Dipper and Mabel looked at each other. Gideon had been helping a demon, a demon who wanted their souls, and he was just a butt-face. They really didn't want to help him in any way, but it would be a bad thing to just leave him to be hurt by Bill.

"Fine. We'll protect you." Dipper sighed.

"But you're staying in a different trailer and you're not allowed to hit on me." Mabel said. "Okay?"

"Okay." Gideon nodded meekly.

They took him back to Stan and Ford's trailer and explained the situation, as well as what Dipper had figured out about Bill.

"Well, I already knew that." Ford said.

"Sixer, I think you left something out." Stan looked at his brother. "What did you do?"

"I trapped him in another dimension with no way of getting out. That what I sold our souls for. I sold my soul for knowledge, but I used yours to lock him away." Ford said. "I honestly didn't think he'd have the strength to break through with a corporeal form. Evidently he's been gathering power since I sealed him away."

"Wait...You said you sold all our souls, right?" Mabel asked. "Like, our parents' souls, too?"

"That's right. Why do you ask?"

"Well, our parents died in a car accident when we were really little." Mabel explained. "So-"

"Bill used the car accident to harvest our parents' souls." Dipper whispered. "He used our parents to make himself stronger." Honestly, none of them would put it past Bill to do something like that. Ford paled as he took in this information. Gideon fidgeted. He hadn't sold his soul, thankfully. Gideon was smart enough not to gamble anything too valuable with demons. His parents had had a run in with demons before he'd been born and thus had instructed him on the proper way to deal with them. At least, his father had. His mother was too catatonic to do much instructing on anything that didn't involve cleaning.

"Yes, I suppose that makes sense." Ford said. "Child, you didn't sell your soul did you?" He looked down to Gideon.

"Uh, n-no sir." Gideon smiled sweetly. "I would never."

"Yes you would." Dipper tried to punch Gideon but his sister stopped him, giving him a look. They weren't going to try and attack Gideon while Ford was still in the room. Their great uncle didn't know what a little turd Gideon could be.

"I'll let you children deal with this on your own." Ford backed up. "Right now we need to figure out a plan to stop Bill."

"We'll stop him later." Stan said. "This kids have had a long day and they don't need this right now."

"But-"

"No buts." Stan said. "Get outta here, kids." He pushed them out the door, leaving them on their butts, sitting in a circle.

"I'm sorry." Gideon said. "I'm really really sorry."

"Well at least you're apologizing now." Dipper said.

"Apology accepted." Mabel said. "Just...Will you stop hitting on me? I really don't need it right now."

"I'll stop." Gideon nodded, hugging his knees.

"Good." Mabel got a conspiratorial glint in her eyes. "Now...Who wants to come up with a plan to save Pacifica?"


	7. Chapter 7

I don't own Gravity Falls. That belongs to our flannel overlord Alex Hirsch.

* * *

Gideon hadn't exactly been thrilled to rescue Pacifica, but it was happening anyway. Mabel wasn't about to let her friend get hurt by her parents. She had made a map depicting the Northwest's mansion, the town of Gravity Falls, and the grounds of the Mystery Tent. Gideon was rather blown away to see Mabel doing all this complex planning. He'd never thought she had it in her. Dipper wasn't surprised. Mabel had sewn both of their costumes by hand. That was something you couldn't do without a great deal of planning and organization. Mabel was scary when she set her mind to something.

"Okay, so, we're going to sneak in here," she pointed to a spot on her map. "And get Pacifica out here. Then we just gotta disguise her so her her parents will never find her!"

"She's not going to like that." Dipper said. Anything involving a disguise was something Pacifica was going to be opposed to. At least involving cutting her hair or changing her clothes that was.

"Well she'll have to get used to it." Mabel rolled up her map. "I'm not letting her go back to her parents. Not now, not ever. They're going to hurt her." Gideon stayed silent. It was better if he didn't get involved.

"I'll just hold down the fort here." He said. "I'll only get in your way."

"Oh no. You're coming too." Mabel grabbed his arm as he tried to get away. "You can distract Pacifica's parents. They'll trust you, won't they?"

"They called me a charlatan!"

"Well they'll at least be mad enough to not notice us taking Pacifica." Mabel grinned. "You will help, right?"

"Of course." It was hard to say no to Mabel. Dipper snorted. So they snuck out under the cover of night, after telling Stan and Ford where they were going. Stan had given them gear in order to break in, while Ford had literally given them a space gun.

"You can't give the kids a space gun!" Stan said, trying to snatch it away from Mabel.

"It's perfectly safe." Ford said. Mabel then shot a hole in the roof of the trailer. Stan looked pointedly at his brother.

"I'll fix that." Ford mumbled and took the gun away.

"Just don't get yourself into more trouble than ya need to." Stan said, handing Mabel a grappling hook. "And Gideon?"

"Yes, sir?"

"You screw this up, you hurt the kids, and I swear it'll be the last thing you ever do." Stan leaned in close, jabbing his finger into Gideon's pudgy chest. "You understand me?"

"Yes!"

"Good." Stan slapped his back. "Now get outta here, all of you! You've got a rich girl to save!" The kids scampered out, making their way carefully to the Northwest's mansion. Mabel had insisted they dress in "stealthwear", which was pretty much just whatever black clothing they had on hand. Gideon was forced to borrow clothes since practically everything he owned came in the same shade of powder blue. Dressed in their stealth clothing, they snuck through the bushes and up to the house. Pacifica's window was closed and presumably locked, not to mention on the second floor. This was going to be more difficult than they had originally anticipated. But Mabel had brought her lock-picking set and a folding ladder. She didn't do anything halfway, that was for sure.

"Dip-Dop, set up the ladder." She said, motioning for her twin. Dipper nodded and started unfolding the rope ladder. Gideon looked around, fidgeting with the edge of his borrowed shirt.

"Are ya sure this is a good idea, Peach?"

"I can't just leave her with her parents." Mabel said. "They'll hurt her."

"Even she doesn't deserve this." Dipper handed Mabel the ladder. Using her grappling hook she got it hooked to the sill under Pacifica's window and shimmied up, setting to work on the window lock. It was child's play to get it open, given her considerable skill. With a click, the window sprung open and Mabel disappeared inside.

"Go." Dipper gestured at Gideon. The little psychic nodded and ran for the front door to set the distraction in motion. Dipper climbed up to the sill to keep a lookout for any sign of the Northwests or their servants coming around the side. Mabel had already disappeared into the bowels of the house in search of Pacifica. Dipper waited patiently, taking a brief moment to scan Pacifica's room. There was a tapestry in the outer hallway he'd never noticed before. It showed a triangle above a burning tree, surrounded by grovelling people. Dipper had a feeling that triangle was the one who'd been bothering them, which meant Pacifica's parents vowed allegiance to the irritating demon. The one who had orchestrated the death of Dipper and Mabel's parents. Dipper's hands formed fists at the mere thought of it.

"Didn't you parents ever tell you not to go breaking into other people's houses, Pine Tree? I thought you humans discouraged this sorta stuff."

"Fuck off, Bill." Dipper growled, not even bothering to look down at the garishly dressed demon. Apparently Bill had liked his clever ringmaster costume so much he'd chosen to keep it. And so he leaned on his cane and looked up at Dipper, grinning.

"Oh, Pine Tree, I thought kids your age didn't swear." Bill laughed. "I'm liking you and your sister more and more. You're real rebels!"

"I said, fuck off."

"And I say I'm not going anywhere." The demon replied. "Not until your sister or the living ventriloquist dummy get back. See, I've got some stuff I need to discuss with you."

"I'm not interested. Go away."

"Oh come on." Bill's voice took on a whining tone. "I just wanna talk. I've got an offer for you, Pine Tree. One I'm sure you're gonna like."

"I'm smart enough not to make deals with demons." Dipper folded his arms. "And so is Mabel."

"When did I ever say either of you were stupid? You're smart kids. Which is why I don't want to hurt you. I don't wanna lose such interesting little meatsacks!"

Dipper wasn't entirely sure how he felt about that. It was pretty creepy to be called a meatsack.

"Gee, thanks." He said, trying to sound as disdainful as possible.

"C'mon, Pine Tree." Bill wheedled. "I can give you and your sister everything you've ever wanted. No more moving around, no more being called a circus freak, no more pain, no more suffering. You'll both be happy. The things I could show you, kid. The whole universe could be in the palm of your hand. You and your sister could be gods. All you have to do is give me your souls." Dipper hesitated. He hated that the demon's offer was tempting. He was so tired of having other kids look at him like he was bad, something they needed to stay away from. He knew it bothered Mabel too, not that she'd ever admit it. She always had to smile and make sure everyone was okay. They could stay in one place for longer than a few months, make a home, make friends. Everything would be okay.

"I can't." He whispered. "What would Grunkle Stan and Grunkle Ford say?"

"Sixer sold your souls to me in the first place, remember?" Bill said. "He only just met you. He doesn't care about you! He only cares about getting knowledge and saving his own ass!"

"That's not true!" Dipper said, although a little weakly. "We're family."

"His brother was kicked out of the house when he was 16 and did Sixer defend him? Did Sixer step up and try to protect his one and only twin? Nope! He only cares about himself, Pine Tree. Hey, tell ya what, I won't take your souls if you give me Fordsy's and the little Pentagram."

"You'll really leave us alone?"

"Scout's honor." Bill said, crossing his heart. Dipper didn't believe it for a second. Or, at least, he mostly didn't believe him. It was so tempting to take Bill's deal. To suddenly make everything in his life better. He wanted so badly to just be happy.

"Well?" Bill held out his hand, ringed in blue fire.

"DIPPER! OUT OF THE WAY!" Then Mabel was barreling towards him, holding Pacifica's arm in a death grip. Dipper scampered down the ladder, completely forgetting about the demon below. Mabel yanked the ladder down after her and booked it out towards the fairgrounds. Gideon came running after them and Bill was left where he was. The Northwests ran out of the house but the children were already gone.

"You two are awful at this." Bill said, tapping his cane on the ground. "You had one job. Take Llama back and keep her away from the kids."

"I'm sorry, sir. We didn't think they'd be so bold-"

"That's the problem!" Bill snapped. "You don't think!" His body and clothing were turning red and black again.

"Please, we'll get her back." Priscilla begged. "Just don't hurt us!" Bill ground his teeth and swung his cane at a tree. He hated working with Northwests. They were always so damn concerned with their well-being. Normally that was a good thing, since it made them easy to manipulate, but they underestimated those who weren't as wealthy as they were. Why did he even bother? He could get more done with his own people.

"I'll give you something to think about, okay?" He smiled and snapped his fingers. All the holes in Nathaniel Northwest's face rearranged their functions. He fell to the ground, screaming, or trying to. His wife was at his side in moments, shaking him and begging for Bill to fix it. But there was no way the demon was just going to undo his punishment. He didn't have a lot of power, so this had taken almost everything he'd had. It was worth it to torture the people who failed him. Bill started laughing and walked away. He made his way out to a clearing in the depths of the woods. Once there, he settled himself down in the grass, crossing his legs and assuming a meditative position. This flesh sack was so troublesome. Once he got those souls he'd be able to rid himself of it for good and go back to his natural form. He closed his eyes and reached out to the nightmare dimension where he and his "friends" dwelled.

"Bill!" Pyronica practically tackled him when she saw him appear.

"Hey 'Ronnie!" He slapped her back. "Didja miss me? Admit it, you missed me!"

"Of course we did!" Pyronica said.

"Is the job going any better?" Kryptos asked. "You seemed pretty mad when you left last time."

"I'm making progress." Bill shrugged a little. "But I think I'm gonna need your help with this. Turns out the humans I was using are pretty useless. You guys can do a much better job than any human."

"Aaaaw. Are the squishy little humans giving you trouble?" Pyronica giggled and held Bill close to her chest. Bill almost didn't get pissed off at this.

"The Pines family is a lot smarter than I gave them credit for." He admitted. "

"We'll take care of them, boss." 8-Ball nodded solemnly.

"Can I eat some?" Teeth asked. "I wanna eat some!"

"Of course ya can, big guy!" Bill perked up immediately at the mention of people getting eaten. "Heck, all of you get to eat a human! Just leave the Pines to me." His freaks cheered and Bill smiled to himself. He was finally going to end this.


	8. Chapter 8

I don't own Gravity Falls. That belongs to our flannel overlord Alex Hirsch.

* * *

The kids ended up back at the circus, breathing pretty hard.

"I can't believe that worked." Gideon panted.

"It's a Mabel plan!" Mabel said. "Of course it worked!"

"I'm dying." Dipper said, face first on the ground. He similarly couldn't believe that this plan had worked. Then again, Mabel's plans usually did work, despite all the laws of the world trying to make sure they didn't. Mabel pulled him off the ground, dragging the rest of their little party to Stan's trailer. As they got to the trailer, the door was slammed open and Stan came storming out. The kids froze, immediately worried that they were somehow in trouble. But Stan just walked right past them.

"Stanley!" Ford ran out after him. "Come back!"

"Go fuck yourself!" Stan yelled back before disappearing into the words.

"I'm not allowed to say that word." Gideon whispered.

"Neither are we." Mabel said. "Dipper, what happened?"

"Grunkle Ford, what happened?" Dipper asked, looking at his other great uncle. Ford froze under the gazes of the four kids.

"Stanley and I just had a disagreement." He said.

"That looked like a fight." Mabel said.

"A really big one." Pacifica added.

"I was just saying it was a shame Stanley had to run this sort of thing." Ford said. "He could have done so much better than this sham." Saying that was one of the biggest mistakes Ford had ever made. Immediately, all four kids turned on him.

"This is our home! It's not a sham!"

"Do you have any idea how amazing this place is?"

"They took me in when no one else would!"

"What do you know, old man?!"

Four voices raised to a fever pitch as the kids surrounded him, yelling and screaming in defense of the place that was their home. Even Gideon, who had hated Stan, had a healthy respect for the Mystery Tent. Disrespecting the life they'd chosen was close to treason. And from their own flesh and blood too. Ford was backed against the door of the trailer by the angry children, some of whom had begun to cry.

"Alright!" Ford put his hands up. "I'm sorry."

"This is our home." Mabel said. "What right do you have to call it a sham?"

"I'm sorry." Ford said again. "I just..." He trailed off. "I'm sorry. I didn't know how much it meant to you."

"Just don't say something like that again." Dipper said. "And go after Grunkle Stan. Don't let him get tricked by Bill." Ford nodded and went after Stan. The kids all decided to retire to the twins' trailer and take a nap.

Meanwhile Stan had stormed off into a clearing in the middle of the woods, muttering to himself.

"Stupid Sixer." He muttered. "What does he know anyway? He never had to support himself on his own. Dad never kicked him out."

"Yeah, what does Sixer know?"

"If you're tryin' to get a deal outta me, you're outta luck." Stan said, not even bothering to turn around to see Bill walking towards him.

"Aw, c'mon." Bill swung his cane. "Surely you want something, don't you?"

"My brother sold our souls to you. I'm not making the same mistake." Stan said. "Now scram."

"Oh Fez. It's cute that you think this is over." Bill's smile widened and he flipped his cane, hooking the end around Stan's neck. "You're coming with me."

"Stanley!"

Bill looked up to see Ford running up. "How perfect." The demon laughed. "We've got both brothers here!"

"Get out of here!" Stan yelled.

"If you want your brother back, then you'll have to deliver on your end of my deal." Bill said, putting his face next to Stan's. "Bye bye, Sixer~" Then he and Stan were gone.

.

.

The kids were woken up by Ford slamming the to the trailer open. They'd fallen asleep the second they'd arranged themselves for a nap.

"Grunkle Ford? What's going on?" Mabel asked, yawning.

"Stanley's been taken by Bill!" Ford weaved his way through the trailer, getting all the children up. "We have to get him back. Now!"

"Mr. Pines? What's up with the yelling?" Soos walked up, yawning. He was followed by Wendy, who had her ax out.

"It's Stanley! He's been taken!" Ford was already digging through various piles of clothing, looking for something or another. It was obviously very important, whatever it was.

"Grunkle Ford? What are you doing?" Mabel and Dipper gathered around their great uncle. Pacifica and Gideon looked back at Soos and Wendy. The other circus performers shrugged. They were startled by the news of their ringmaster's disappearance, but they were also a little confused by Ford's behavior. They still didn't know what to think of this strange man. He was family, at least because of his relation to Stan, but he was a weird one even by their standards.

"Mr. Pines, can you explain everything a little more clearly?" Wendy asked. "You said Stan's gone?"

"Bill took him." Ford said, continuing to dig. "Where is that blasted book?"

"Your journals are in Mr. Pines' trailer." Soos said. "We're not supposed to touch them."

"Journals?!" Gideon's eyes lit up. "I wanna see! Show me! Show me!"

"Right. Of course." Ford brushed past the children. "This way, everyone. We must formulate a plan of attack if we are to rescue Stanley."

"Explain." Wendy repeated, standing in Ford's way. "Soos and I still don't even know why this guy is targeting the circus. No one told us anything."

"Grunkle Ford sold our souls to Bill." Mabel said. "And now he's here to get the souls so he can break into our world or something."

"He sold our blood family's souls." Dipper said, hoping to clarify. "So all of us Pines are in danger."

"So this is your fault." Wendy's stance shifted slightly, becoming a bit more menacing. Ford's status had just changed from "family" to "enemy" rather quickly. Even Soos looked upset and angry. If they lost Stan, it was going to be because of a stupid decision Ford had made.

"Yes, I'm aware." Ford said, trying to push past Wendy. "Now we need to-"

"No, you're not!" Wendy shoved him. Hard. Ford hit the ground, staring up at the redhead in shock.

"Do you even understand what you did, coming here?" Wendy yelled. "You put the lives of everyone here in danger, especially Stan's! He's all we have!"

"My dear girl-"

"No, you're going to listen." Wendy growled, planting her axe firmly in the ground. "Everyone here is family because we're all alone otherwise. My family died in a lumberjacking accident, Dipper and Mabel's parents died in a car crash, Soos' parents couldn't keep him so they gave him up."

"And Mr. Pines got thrown out because you didn't stand up for him." Soos said. "He told me that. He said it was his fault, but it sounded like he did everything he could to make things right. Why didn't you forgive him? He's your brother."

"Wait, what?" Dipper frowned and turned to Soos. "Grunkle Stan said he ran away from home."

"He got kicked out because he broke my perpetual motion machine and cost me a chance to go to my first choice university." Ford said.

"He didn't mean to break it!" Soos said, surprising everyone with how forceful he sounded. "It was an accident and he tried to fix it!"

"You abandoned your own family." Pacifica said, staring at the old man.

"I didn't have a choice!" Ford protested. "My father was angry and I couldn't just go against him!"

"There's always a choice." Gideon said.

"We're going to go save Mr. Pines." Wendy picked up her axe. "You're staying here."

"I know Bill better than any of you do!" Ford got to his feet, dusting himself off quickly. "I'm the only one who can take him down!"

"Dipper, get his journals." Wendy said. "We'll get all the information we need from there. Anyone else who wants to can stay here while we gather intel." Dipper nodded and ran to the trailer to gather whatever journals they were going to need.

"I'll stay." Soos said. "Someone needs to make sure everything's alright here."

"I'll stay too." Pacifica kept playing with the hem of her dress. "I just...I need a break." Dipper returned with the journals, and the group set out, leaving Ford alone with Pacifica and Soos.

"Sorry I yelled at you." Soos said. "I kinda lost it."

"I deserved it." Ford collapsed into the grass again.

"You did." Pacifica settled down next to him.

"I know I was wrong to not defend Stanley, but I was so young...I didn't want to just defy my father. I thought he'd be alright. And then I met Bill, and I wasn't thinking when I made the deal. This is all my fault."

"That's what we were saying." Pacifica snapped.

"Mr. Pines, everyone makes mistakes." Soos said. "Wendy probably shouldn't have said what she did either, but it did seem like you were kind of rejecting responsibility."

"I was." Ford covered his face with his hand. "I truly am a fool."

"Well, if you're going to change, now's the time." Pacifica said. "I know Mabel believes in you, probably. She believes in everyone. Even me." She smiled softly. Mabel had gone to all this trouble to save her, to bring her into this family. She didn't want to disappoint the other girl. She didn't want to lose these people who actually cared about her.

"Yes, I suppose that is true." Ford sat up.

"When everyone gets back, you should apologize." Soos suggested. "I'm sure everything will be okay then!" At least, he hoped it would be. Wendy's temper was still something he wasn't able to predict, but she'd probably cool off while out in the forest with the kids.

.

.

"What a cute little pow-wow." Bill said, gazing into the crystal orb in the center of his little dimension. "You got a real special little family here, Fez. It'd be a shame if I had to hurt them."

"Still don't know what exactly you want from me." Stan said. He'd been restrained in a cage made of something like bones, probably just to scare him, and was occasionally prodded by one of Bill's freak's.

"I want your soul." Bill said brightly. "And the souls of your great niece and nephew. And while I'm at it, maybe Red, Question Mark, Llama, Pentagram, and even Sixer!"

"That's askin' a lot of an old man." Stan said, sitting back in his cage. "So I think I'm gonna pass." Bill turned around, the smile on his human face tight.

"Oh Fez." He laughed. "Who ever said you had a choice?"


	9. Chapter 9

I don't own Gravity Falls. That belongs to our flannel overlord Alex Hirsch.

Here's the last chapter. I hope you've enjoyed it.

* * *

In the woods, the group stayed mostly silent. None of the kids particularly wanted Wendy pissed off at them.

"Maybe we were a little harsh." Mabel played with the frayed hem of her sweater. "Grunkle Ford probably didn't mean to hurt our feelings."

"People don't mean to do a lot of things." Wendy said. "That doesn't mean they're allowed to get away with it." She hacked at the branches in their way, clearing a path like some kind of warrior.

"So, what're we gonna do once we get to Mr. Pines?" Gideon asked. It was then that all four of them realized they didn't actually have a plan. They'd stormed off without any idea of how to rescue Stan from Bill's clutches.

"We should probably go back." Dipper suggested. "We can make a plan with everyone else. As long as Grunkle Ford cooperates, that is."

"I'm sure he wants Grunkle Stan back just as much as we do." Mabel said.

"You're probably right." Wendy sighed and leaned against a tree. "God, I'm such an idiot!"

"We were all angry." Dipper said. "It wasn't just your fault." Wendy just shrugged, arms folded over her chest. She'd need a few minutes before she'd be alright to head back to the circus.

"Hey, does that look weird to y'all?" Gideon suddenly asked, pointing to something in the clearing in front of them. The group moved forward to investigate. Half submerged in the earth of the clearing was a stone statue of a triangle with a single eye in its middle, wearing a bowtie and tophat. It had one hand out, as if beckoning the onlookers to reach out and shake it.

"That's gotta be Bill." Dipper said. He dug in his coat pockets and pulled out a tattered notebook, beginning to make notes of the statue's location and what it could possibly mean.

"It could be an anchor of some kind." Gideon said. "Y'know, giving him more power in this world?"

"That could be true." Dipper muttered, not looking up from his notebook. Wendy and Mabel inspected the statue, poking and prodding but never touching its outstretched hand. After a few minutes they concluded that it was nothing more than an ordinary stone statue. For the moment, that is.

"Okay, let's go back." Wendy said. "We can tell everyone about it." Something about the statue just made her feel distinctly uncomfortable. The group turned to go, and managed to make it a few feet before they were interrupted by a bout of maniacal laughter.

"Lookie here! Stan's family, come to save him!" Bill cackled. The group of four whirled around to see Bill in his used car salesman form, perched atop the stone statue. His hands and singular eye glowed with an unearthly blue fire. Wendy swept the kids behind her, holding up her axe in defense.

"Whoa! Easy there Red!" Bill said, putting his hands up. "Don't you know better than to attack an unarmed man?"

"I'm sure you've got some trick up your sleeve." Dipper said. "What do you want?"

"Oh, Pine Tree." Bill sighed and clicked his tongue disapprovingly. "I thought you were smarter than this. You already know what I want."

"Our souls, right?" Mabel said.

"Yep! Or just 3 souls. Any three. If you wanna stay alive, Maybe I'll just take Red, Pentagram, and Question-mark!"

"No!" Dipper and Mabel said together. Bill's smile sagged a little and his eye narrowed. He snapped his fingers and a rift opened behind him.

"Alright. Have it your way." He said. Almost immediately, creatures began to appear. They looked like nothing any of the humans had ever seen before. Immediately the group turned and took off running back towards the circus. Bill watched them go, his grip on his cane tight. He was breathing a little more heavily now. Opening a doorway for his friends had taken a lot of power, perhaps more than he currently had. Dammit, he had to finish this. He couldn't keep this going for too much longer.

"You okay?" Pyronica asked.

"I'm fine." He snapped. "Now follow those kids!" His friends nodded, following after the group of humans. The demon turned to Stan, who sat tied up next to him. He'd been unsurreptitiously dumped on the ground when the others had come through.

"Sorry Fez." Bill put a hand on Stan's head. "Looks like I'm going to need to borrow your soul for a little while."

.

.

Ford, Pacifica, and Soos were camped out in Stan's trailer when the group of four returned to the circus. They were looking through Ford's journals in an attempt to find some weakness of Bill's. The fact that Bill had both a physical form and the power of two souls was particularly problematic. The physical form, meant to seal Bill away, was now Ford's undoing. There wasn't a lot they could do to the demon while he possessed a body.

"Grunkle Ford!"

"Mister Pines!" Wendy, Dipper, Mabel, and Gideon practically bowled each other over as they all tried to get into the trailer at once.

"What's going on?" Ford closed his book and stood up quickly.

"It's Bill." Wendy explained. "He showed up with a bunch of his weird friends and I'm pretty sure he's coming here."

"He said he needs three souls." Dipper said. "I think he might take Stan's because he has him."

"You said he brought his friends into this plane?"

"He did. Why?"

"Well, if he used that much power then he could be vulnerable." Ford nodded, a finger on his lips. This was exactly the advantage they needed. But what exactly could they do to take him and his friends down?

"We need to do something." Pacifica said.

"But what?" Gideon asked.

"We use our skills." Mabel stood up a little straighter, dusting herself off. "He's coming here. He's coming to our turf. We'll do what we do best. We're gonna put on a show." She picked up Stan's ringmaster hat and plopped it on Ford's head. "And you can be the ringmaster."

.

.

When Bill and his freaks arrived at the circus, the lights were on in the big top. Everything was set up as it would be for a show. Robbie was manning the ticket booth and Candy and Grenda stood outside with their snack boxes.

"What in the-? They're putting on a show?" Bill frowned.

"You think they're pretending not to be scared?" Pyronica asked.

"Oooh! I always wanted to see a circus show!" Kryptos clapped his hands together. Bill slapped the back of what was approximately his head.

"Come on." He gestured to his freaks and they walked over. Robbie looked at them, leaning on the counter of the ticket booth. His eyes flicked from demon to demon, not showing the slightest sign of fear. This was Gravity Falls, weird shit was basically normal.

"I don't know if you have enough money for all of you." He said. "You're gonna need a lot of tickets."

"Kid, you do not want to be messing with me right now." Bill said through gritted teeth. "If you know what's good for you, you'll let me and my friends in."

"Or what?"

"Or I'll smite you where you stand."

"Yeah. Sure." Robbie rolled his eyes. "You're gonna need a ticket at least. Mister Pines too."

"Fine." Bill dug out a wallet from his pants pocket. "How much for four tickets?"

"20$"

"What?! That's highway robbery!"

"I don't make the prices." Robbie said, yawning. "You want to complain, take it up with Mr. Pines." Stan certainly wasn't going to be saying much though. He laid limply in Kryptos' grasp, like a sack of potatoes. Kryptos had been forced to carry the old man since Pyronica kept trying to eat Stan.

"Fine." Bill dug out 20$ and slammed it onto the counter. Robbie took the money, sticking it in the cash box before tearing off four tickets from the roll Stan had left in the booth.

"There you go. Enjoy the show." He said. Bill snatched up the tickets. He handed tickets to Pyronica and Kryptos and stuck one in Stan's pants pocket.

"Popcorn?" Candy and Grenda were the next to assault the demons. They shoved their trays in the group's faces, enticing them with the smell and taste.

"Get outta here!" Bill said, waving his cane at them. The girls pouted, but nevertheless scurried off. Bill muttered to himself, throwing back the curtain. Inside, there stood Ford, all decked out in Stan's ringmaster attire.

"Welcome welcome!" Ford boomed. "Welcome to the greatest show on Earth!"

"Isn't that Barnum & Bailey's schtick?" Bill leaned on his cane. Now this he could deal with. He knew Ford, he knew how to push his buttons. This was something he could manage.

"Maybe so, but you've never seen anything like this." Ford said. "Please, take your seats. The show will begin momentarily." As Bill's freaks gathered behind him, the performers of the circus appeared in the tent. Pacifica stood on the high wire, holding a shotgun and a bag of rock salt. Soos dragged out a comically large hammer they usually used for his the strength test game. Dipper and Mabel wheeled out Mabel's cannon. Wendy appeared with her axes. Gideon held a bible and wore his bedazzled cape.

"So you want a fight, do you?" Bill snickered. "Well alright. I'll indulge you." And then the fight began. Bill's freaks surged forward, and the circus was ready. Kryptos dropped Stan and went for Soos. The strongman readied his hammer, using it like a baseball bat when Kryptos flew towards him. The little demon wailed and flew away.

"Useless!" Bill growled. Behind Soos, Mabel was fired out of her cannon, flying into the freaks with her patented kitten fists. Pacifica, having been hunting since she was a child, managed to hit a few of the other freaks dead on with her rock salt. It didn't work exactly like they'd expected, but it sure as hell hurt the freaks. Pacifica smiled to herself and kept shooting until they fled. Meanwhile Wendy was tearing through the freaks with her axes. Her approach was by far the most violent. She was actually getting bloody. Or at least, covered in whatever counted as blood for these creatures. After everything that had happened, all the shit she'd gone through, it felt good to let off some steam and give these freaks a good beating. Gideon was rattling off psalms like his life depended on it, driving the demons back. Dipper stood in the back observing everything with Ford firing a pistol at his side. Bill stood on the other side of the tent. Stan was slumped on the ground beside him. The demon gnashed his teeth, slamming his cane on the ground. He couldn't win this. Not against these people. His freaks were running away with their tails between their legs.

"Alright, fine!" Bill tapped his cane on the ground, a ring of blue fire springing up around all of them. His freaks, the ones still left standing, fled the circle.

"Ready to give up?" Ford asked, smirking.

"You forget I've still got a bargaining chip." Bill dragged Stan to his feet. "C'mon then Fez. Let's bargain."

"Give us our Grunkle back." Mabel demanded.

"Well someone's going to have to give me their soul." Bill said, putting his hand on his hip. "Sixer? You wanna volunteer?" Ford was stone-faced, grasping his own cane like a lifeline.

"Grunkle Ford, you can't!" Dipper said, grabbing at his sleeve.

"Let me talk with my brother." Ford said. "I need to talk this out with him."

"Okay. Fine." Bill booted Stan forward, waking the old man up. He got to his feet, stumbling, and landed in his brother's arms.

"Hey, Sixer." He grinned. Ford looked about ready to punch Stan. Instead he hugged him. Stan's smile fell and he patted Ford's back. The two of them stayed like that for a few minutes, something that made Bill incredibly impatient.

"Hurry it up." He said.

"Go wait outside." Ford snapped. Bill rolled his eye and went outside.

"You're all useless." He said to the assembled freaks. They avoided his gaze, looking thoroughly ashamed. As they should be. Bill pulled out some money from his pocket and bought some popcorn from Candy and Grenda. Ford should be ashamed of himself, making a demon stress eat like this. He shoved the snack food into his mouth, barely taking time to chew. It saved time anyway. Not that he was going anywhere though.

"Alright! You can get your ass back in here!" Stan yelled. Bill threw the popcorn bag at Pyronica, who swallowed it whole, and floated back in. Stan and Ford stood side by side in the middle of the ring.

"I'll do it." Ford said. "I'll relinquish my soul to you."

Bill grinned. "That's a good boy Sixer. Now we just need to sign the appropriate paperwork."

"You don't have to do this." Stan said.

"I have to." Ford pushed his brother gently aside. Bill pulled a contract out of thin air, flourishing a quill pen, which he handed to Ford. Ford glanced back at Stan before taking the contract.

"I, Stanford Filbrick Pines, relinquish my soul to you." He said, signing his name at the bottom. Bill started laughing to himself as he rolled up the contract.

"Now I have something to ask of you." Ford said.

"Oh?" Bill raised an eyebrow. "What do you want from me, Ford?"

"You have to leave here and never come back once you have my soul."

"Okay. Sure. Whatever." Bill shrugged and stuck out his hand. Ford stuck his out to shake as well, but Bill stopped him.

"Hey. Gloves off." He gestured to Ford's hands, which were covered by pristine white gloves. Ford sighed and took them off, shaking Bill's hand before he got a chance to count the number of fingers. Immediately, the demon knew something was wrong. His hand burned. He jerked away and looked down at his hand. A sigil was burned into his skin, the slightest bit of blood on it.

"What...What did you do?!" He snarled, his human appearance beginning to burn away. Ford, no, Stan, grinned.

"You can't con a conman!" Stan crowed, lifting up his hand to reveal a sigil carved into the palm of his hand. The fire began to spin around Bill, consuming the demon as he screamed and raged. The freaks outside could hear their leader's pain and promptly got the fuck out of there. If they could take down Bill, then the freaks didn't want to mess with them. Soon, the fire was gone, along with any and all signs that the demons had been there.

"So that happened." Mabel said.

"I can't believe we won." Dipper started laughing, hugging his sister. "I thought we were going to lose you!" He hugged Stan and Ford's legs. Gideon and Pacifica came in on the hug too, along with Soos and Wendy. Their little family had almost been broken up. Ford was a part of that family now, and he wasn't going anywhere either.

"I want to sleep for a million years." Stan groaned, then looked over at Soos. "Hey, mind getting me some rubbing alcohol and bandages?"

"Of course!" Soos nodded and ran off. The others got Stan back to his trailer where they made both him and Ford lay down. They didn't open the circus the next day. Everyone took the day off, recovering from the events of the previous day. They made sure to destroy the statue Bill had been using as a tether, just to be sure. The sigil Ford had used had been enough to banish Bill in his weakened form, but the tether had still been there. Now, they were safe. Slowly, everything began to return to normal. Pacifica's parents came looking for her, of course, but things were different now that Bill was gone. They'd lost much of their power. The entire circus troupe made it clear that unless her parents started changing their ways, they weren't going to get their daughter back. Pacifica was happier in the circus than she was in her home. In the end, though, she did go back with them. And things did change for her. Things were different. The troupe didn't go anywhere too big, but things had changed with the addition of Ford. Ford hadn't expected to enjoy the life of the circus, but he found himself rather liking working with Stan. It made up for the years of time he'd been away from his brother. Everyone was happy.

 _But in his own nightmare dimension, Bill plotted his revenge._


End file.
